RAWALPINDI: In order to facilitate the commuters, the City Traffic Police have demanded the provincial government to equip them with new equipment to streamline the flow of the traffic during the construction of the mega Metro Bus Project in the city, official sources said.

The department has also planned to train its personnel to facilitate the people.

The police department has demanded 600 fluorescent jackets and gloves, 15,000 dust masks, 300 concrete barriers, 300 iron barriers, 200 mega phones, 500 reflection tapes, 8 fork lifters, 300 traffic cones and 100 heavy duty torches to control the traffic.

In addition to this, the department has also asked for 1,000 rain coats, 100,000 hand bills for public guidance, 800 electric rods, 1,000 umbrellas, 500 warning lights, 1,000 jackets, 1,000 long shoes.

The traffic police department has also decided to set up four camp offices for managing the traffic and 12 public address systems to guide the public during the construction work.

The department has additionally asked for 600 wireless sets, 1,200 batteries for the wireless sets and nearly 250 traffic sign boards for public guidance, to streamline the traffic movement during the daytime and at night.

The traffic police department has further asked for two cranes, with an objective to tow ‘out of order’ vehicles to clear the routes during the construction work.

On the other hand, a comprehensive traffic plan is being prepared by the city traffic police department to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.

When the newly posted city traffic officer (CTO), Superintendent of Police Jameel Haider Shah, was contacted and asked whether the traffic police department had prepared a traffic plan to keep the traffic streamlined, he replied: “The traffic department has prepared a traffic diversion and an alternate route plan during the constructions of the Metro Bus Project, and demanded the government to ensure that the roads are cleared from encroachments and the patch work is completed before starting the Metro Bus Project.”

He further added: “The traffic police department will not give a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the government, to start the construction of the Metro Bus Service Project, until the encroachments were removed from the roads and the patch-work, on the existing alternate roads, was completed.”

“The traffic police cannot streamline the traffic in the presence of encroachments and dilapidated roads,” the CTO said.